circuitousness
Taking the long way
Circuitousness is the quality of being indirect or roundabout rather than straightforward.
A route has circuitousness when it winds instead of going directly.
Speech or writing has circuitousness when it takes unnecessary detours: The circuitousness of his explanation frustrated everyone.
The word often carries a negative connotation—implying evasiveness or inefficiency.
Following a winding course
- serpentineCurving in repeated bends
- sinuousCurving in flowing turns
- twistingRotating with distortion
- curvingBending in arc
zigzag · labyrinthine · tortuous · spiral · convoluted · snaking · coiling · looping
Act of escaping detection
- obliquenessLack of directness
- circumlocutionIndirect, wordy expression
- digressionVeering off topic
- tangentialBarely connected to main point
elliptical · ambiguity · sidestep · circumvent · skirt · hedging · equivocation · insinuation
Route that skirts obstacles
- diversionRedirection of attention
- deviationDeparture from expected path
- sidetrackDivert from purpose
- workaroundMakeshift bypass of difficulty
circumnavigation · loop · beltway · backroad
meandering
Following a winding course
- serpentineCurving in repeated bends
- sinuousCurving in flowing turns
- twistingRotating with distortion
curving · zigzag · labyrinthine · tortuous · spiral · convoluted · snaking · coiling · looping · switchback
evasion
Act of escaping detection
- obliquenessLack of directness
- circumlocutionIndirect, wordy expression
- digressionVeering off topic
tangential · elliptical · ambiguity · sidestep · circumvent · skirt · hedging · equivocation · insinuation · implication
bypass
Route that skirts obstacles
workaround · circumnavigation · loop · beltway · backroad
- complexitycomplex, complicated, simple, intricate, easy
circuitousnessdirectness
Quality of being straightforward
straightness · linearity · beeline · straight line · shortest path
circuitousnessdirectness
Quality of being straightforward
straightforwardness · bluntness · forthrightness · frankness · candor
circuitousnessdirectness
Quality of being straightforward
straightforwardness · efficiency · simplicity · economy · streamlining
circuit, circulate, circulation, circuits, circuitous, circumference, circuitry, circulatory, circularity